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Chelsea vs Arsenal preview, how to watch, team news, line-ups and prediction

By on November 7, 2024

declan rice Arsenal

Arsenal desperately need to get back to winning ways when we take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

It’s been a torrid few weeks for the Gunners as we’ve seen our Premier League title challenge derailed while we also suffered our first defeat in the Champions League on Wednesday night. At the start of October, we were considered by many as main contenders for the title and some pundit even had us down as favourites ahead of defending champions Manchester City.

However, a shock 2-0 defeat away to Bournemouth after the October international break was a real blow. William Saliba’s controversial sending off at the Vitality Stadium led to Arsenal suffering their first Premier League defeat of the season and saw Liverpool and Man City open up a gap at the top.

We then blew a lead twice against Liverpool to draw 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were in control at the break – leading 2-1 – and were the better team. However, Gabriel Magalhaes was forced off early in the second half and that gave Liverpool the impetus to push for an equaliser, which duly come via Mo Salah. It was another frustrating result as we’d failed to hold on to our lead and secure a massive three points so it was vital we got back to winning ways away to Newcastle last weekend.

Sadly, Arsenal produced a dire performance at St James’ Park and crashed to a 1-0 defeat thanks to Alexander Isak’s early header. We limited Newcastle to relatively few chances but never really threatened ourselves and couldn’t find a way to break down their stubborn defence. The defeat has left us sitting fifth in the Premier League table, five behind Man City and seven adrift of leaders Liverpool after 10 games.

Things aren’t going to get any easier for Arsenal as we now face a tough trip to Stamford Bridge to take on fourth-placed Chelsea before hosting third-placed Nottingham Forest after the upcoming international break. If we lose either of these games, I think it’s safe to say we can kiss goodbye to the title for another season, so it’s vital we get back on track and bring home a positive result from West London this weekend.

More pain for Gunners

Mikel Arteta had hoped the Champions League would be a welcome distraction and an opportunity to kick start our flagging campaign. Arsenal travelled to the San Siro on Wednesday night looking to secure a morale boosting win over one of Europe’s best teams. Unfortunately, it was another frustrating night as we crashed to a 1-0 defeat. The game was decided by two penalty decision, which both went against Arsenal. Firstly, we were denied a penalty when Mikel Merino was punched in the head in the area by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer while challenging for a high ball. The Spanish midfielder was then harshly punished for the ball striking his arm in the box from barely a yard away. Inter converted the spot kick to score what turned out to be the only goal of the game.

Arsenal played much better in the second half and were clearly the better team. However, a lack of creativity in the final third once again cost us as we couldn’t make our dominance count by creating clear cut chances. It’s obvious we’ve missed Martin Odegaard, but a club like Arsenal shouldn’t be so reliant on one player to be our creative spark and the failure to bring in proper attacking reinforcements in the summer has cost us.

Thankfully, Odegaard made his return from injury in midweek with a late cameo. He’s unlikely to be ready to start against Chelsea though so Arsenal are going to need to find a solution to our creative issues if we want to win on Sunday.

We’ve got some impressive results against Chelsea in recent years but they are much improved under Enzo Maresca. The Blues have a squad packed with talent and are sitting in the top four after drawing 1-1 away to Man Utd last weekend, so we’ll need to be on top form if we want to bring home all three points this weekend.

Where to watch

The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon. Subscribers can follow all the action on their TV, or via the app on mobile or tablet devices.

Alternatively, match going fans can buy Chelsea tickets through the club websites and be in the stands at Stamford Bridge.

Team news

Arsenal have been dealt a fresh blow with the news that Declan Rice is a major doubt after breaking his toe last weekend. The midfielder missed the trip to Italy in midweek and is facing a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of the Chelsea game on Sunday.

Arteta will also need to assess Kai Havertz after he was forced off against Inter with a nasty cut to his head. Mikel Merino is another doubt as he’s been suffering from illness this week.

Takehiro Tomiyasu remains out with a knee injury while Riccardo Calafiori is also on the sidelines with a knee problem. Raheem Sterling can’t face his parent club due to the terms of his loan.

As for Chelsea, they’ll need to check on Cole Palmer after he picked up a knee issue against United last weekend. Jadon Sancho is also ill so will need to be assessed.

Likely Line-up

Arteta doesn’t have too much room to freshen things up so we’re likely to see a side similar to the eleven that started against Inter. The back four will remain unchanged while Rice could start alongside Thomas Partey if he’s passed fit with Merino missing out.

Assuming Havertz is fit, he could drop into a deeper midfield role with Gabriel Jesus recalled up front as Leandro Trossard has been poor lately and Odegaard isn’t ready to start.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli should keep their places on the wings and Arteta will be hoping for some magic from the duo.

Expected XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Predicted score

Arsenal are under huge pressure to get back on track after a disastrous few weeks but this will be an extremely tough game away to a rejuvenated Chelsea side.

Our lack of creativity is a real worry and we lack ideas in the final third, so Odegaard’s return can’t come soon enough. Hopefully he can make a difference off the bench if we can stay in the game until he’s ready to come on.

As long as we stay solid at the back and can be competitive in midfield, I’m backing us to bring home at least a point. Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal